Kerry’s $8 Million Puts Him in Front of Democratic Rivals

As the Democratic presidential campaign picks up, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry is on the best financial footing, with more than $8 million in the bank, according to the first detailed accounting of the candidates’ fund-raising performance.

Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who raised slightly more than Kerry in the first three months of the year, had $5.7 million on hand. Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri was third with roughly $5 million. The rest of the field lagged far behind, with Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman spending more than 40 cents of every dollar he raised from January through March.

The ready-cash totals are an important gauge of political strength as the war in Iraq winds down and the Democrats head into a new, more intensive phase of campaigning. The financial reports filed this week also showed that most of the major candidates had benefited from a change in campaign rules that doubled the amount they could raise from a single contributor, to $2,000.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean -- fourth in cash-on-hand with $2.1 million -- concentrated more on cultivating small donors, a reflection of his insurgent campaign effort.

Each of the nine declared candidates was required to file a detailed campaign fund-raising statement with the Federal Election Commission by midnight Tuesday. The results showed the collective field drawing strong backing from Hollywood, trial lawyers and the Jewish community, among other long-standing sources of Democratic dollars.

The impressive total raised -- roughly $25 million in just three months -- reflects an abiding hunger in the party to unseat President Bush. What is lacking at this point is a consensus on which of the candidates could best accomplish that feat.

“I don’t think any of them has any kind of lock on any part of the Democratic donor base,” said strategist Garry South, noting that several of California’s biggest givers have hosted events for multiple candidates, or stayed seated on their wallets. “Right now you see a lot of people hedging their bets.”

Not surprisingly, each of the candidates went after the most accessible money first.

For Edwards -- a former trial attorney -- that meant turning to his fellow lawyers. Of the $7.4 million he raised in the first quarter, more than half came from the legal community, and the bulk was raised in $2,000 increments. California provided the biggest chunk of Edwards’ campaign cash, followed by Texas.

Kerry, who also collected most of his money in big-dollar checks, raised considerable sums from Wall Street, the high-tech industry and from several of the nation’s most prominent law firms. More than half the contributions came from just three states: California, New York and Massachusetts. He padded his total with $3 million remaining from his 2002 reelection campaign.

Gephardt collected $3.3 million of the $3.5 million he raised in the first quarter from his native Missouri -- a surprising fact, given his years as a national political figure. He also transferred $2.4 million from his House campaign account, significantly boosting his cash on hand.

Lieberman, the party’s 2000 vice presidential nominee, collected roughly $3 million in the year’s first quarter, with the biggest amounts coming from his home state of Connecticut and neighboring New York. He also spent money considerably faster than most candidates. Lieberman ended the quarter with $1.8 million in the bank, the fifth-highest total.

Dean came in fifth in overall receipts, collecting more than $2.6 million in a showing that was stronger than many political analysts had expected. Many of Dean’s contributions were in relatively small amounts of $250 and $300, with more than $750,000 coming via the Internet. The physician raised a considerable amount from the medical profession and from college campuses around the country. He reported just over $2 million cash on hand.

Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, who only recently started campaigning after recuperating from heart surgery in January, raised just over $1 million in the first quarter, with the majority coming from donors in his home state. He reported $1.1 million cash on hand.

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who has built his campaign around opposition to the war in Iraq, reported $173,000 in contributions and $7,000 in loans from January through March. Many of his donations came from such liberal bastions as Berkeley, Marin County, Santa Cruz and Cambridge, Mass. As of April 1, the four-term congressman had $50,000 cash on hand.

Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun reported $72,450 in receipts, the bulk from her home state of Illinois, and ended the quarter with $45,000 in the bank. Included was a $500 contribution from Paul Simon, also a former U.S. senator from Illinois.

The Rev. Al Sharpton did not file a report, even though a spokeswoman for the FEC said Wednesday he apparently triggered the threshold -- raising or spending $5,000 -- that requires a detailed fund-raising statement.

Frank Watkins, a spokesman for Sharpton, said the campaign still considers itself an “exploratory” effort and attorneys had assured Sharpton he was not required to file any statement. From a financial standpoint, “We are not in the same territory as Edwards or Kerry,” Watkins said.

As ever, California was a bountiful source of campaign cash for virtually the entire nine-candidate field, with Hollywood and other entertainment interests giving generously.

Among industry executives, Fox Studios president Peter Chernin gave $2,000 to Kerry and another $2,000 to Gephardt. Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, gave $2,000 to Kerry. Edgar Bronfman Jr., the chief executive officer of Vivendi Universal, gave $2,000 to Edwards. Warner Brothers President Alan Horn gave $1,000 each to Edwards and Gephardt.

Actors James Cromwell and Rob Reiner gave $2,000 apiece to Dean. Michael Douglas gave $2,000 each to Dean and Gephardt. Terence Stamp contributed $2,000 to Lieberman. Actress Rita Wilson gave $1,000 to Edwards and Morgan Fairchild gave $500.

Among recording artists, Barry Manilow gave $2,000 to Gephardt and David Crosby gave $2,000 to Dean. Joan Jett and Graham Nash gave $1,000 each to Dean and Don Henley gave $1,000 to Kerry.

On the local political scene, Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad gave $2,000 to Kerry; Pasadena Mayor William Bogaard gave $1,500 to Gephardt and Robert Daly, chairman of baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, gave $1,000. Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky contributed $1,000 to Lieberman and City Councilman Eric Garcetti gave $250 to Dean.

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Campaign funds

Fund-raising totals for the nine Democratic presidential candidates, for the period Jan. 1 to March 31 (in millions unless shown otherwise):

Candidates Raised Spent Cash on hand

Sen. John Edwards, North Carolina

Raised: $7.4

Spent: $1.68

Cash on hand: $5.7

Sen. John F. Kerry, Mass.

Raised: $7*

Spent: $2

Cash on hand: $8

Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, Mo.

Raised: $3.5**

Spent: $1

Cash on hand: $4.9

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, Conn.

Raised: $3

Spent: $1.2

Cash on hand: $1.8

Former Gov. Howard Dean, Vermont 2.6

Raised: $2.6; $157,000 on hand as of Jan. 1

Spent: $700,000

Cash on hand: $2

Sen. Bob Graham, Florida

Raised: $1.1

Spent: $12,500

Cash on hand: $1.1

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Ohio

Raised: $173,000; $7,000 loan

Spent: $130,000

Cash on hand: $50,000

Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, Illinois

Raised: $72,450

Spent: $27,000

Cash on hand: $45,000

The Rev. Al Sharpton: Did not file quarterly report

*Excludes $3 million transferred from 2002 Senate campaign fund

**Excludes $2.4 million transferred from House campaign fund

Source: Federal Election Commission